June 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This rule expands guidance to consular offices for the review of nonimmigrant visa issuances and refusals contained at 22 CFR 41.113(i) (new) and 22 CFR 41.121(c), respectively, to specify who should conduct the reviews, the types of cases to be reviewed, and the goals of the reviews.

The Office on Women's Health (OWH) in the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is the government's focal point for women's health issues, and works to redress inequities in research, health care services, and education that have historically placed the health of women at risk. The OWH coordinates women's health efforts within DHHS to eliminate disparities in health status and supports culturally sensitive educational programs that encourage women to take personal responsibility for their own health and wellness. To that end, OWH has established public/private partnerships to address critical women's health issues nationwide. These partnerships are with non-profit community-based, faith-based, and women's service organizations (CBOs, FBOs, WSOs) innovating intergenerational approaches for HIV/AIDS prevention education targeting women disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS across the lifespan. African American and Latino women constituted 25 percent of the U.S. female population in 2002, but 81.5 percent of the reported female AIDS cases (65 percent were among African Americans and 16.5 percent were among Hispanics). (1) The number of Asian/Pacific Islanders and American Indian/Alaskan Native women living with AIDS continues to rise, with an approximately 10 percent increase each year over the past 5 years. (2) Women disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS are vulnerable for the disease because they lack accurate information about the virus; are impacted by cultural factors that decrease their abilities to protect themselves against HIV; have low to no condom negotiation skills; are faced with low socioeconomic circumstances; suffer from sexual abuse; struggle with violence and other traumas perpetrated against women, and lack information and skills to share sexual health information with other female members in the family. To this end, the Intergenerational Approaches to HIV/AIDS Prevention Education with Women Across the Lifespan Pilot Program intends to: (1) Develop a cross-generational HIV/AIDS prevention education program to establish effective and/or increase communication about sexual health between African American, Native American/American Indian, Hispanic/Latino, and Asian/Pacific Islander women at risk for or living with HIV/AIDS with other female family and/or kinship network members 12+ years old; (2) provide opportunities for African American, Native American/American Indian, Hispanic/Latino, and Asian/Pacific Islander women and other female members of the family 12+ years old to know their serostatus; and (3) address the age-, gender-, cultural-, spiritual-, and language-specific needs of African American, Native American/American Indian, Hispanic/ Latino, and Asian/Pacific Islander women and other female members of the family 12+ years old regarding their sexual health issues, particularly HIV/AIDS prevention so they may decrease their risks for disease. This program builds on Minority AIDS Initiative- and Office on Women's Health-funded Women and HIV/AIDS Programs (e.g., Model Mentorship Program; HIV Prevention Education for Young Women Attending Minority Academic Institutions) by addressing HIV/AIDS issues using the strength of familial and kinship networks, as well as women-specific vulnerabilities to acquiring the virus.

The regulations contained in the temporary rule, emergency action, published on October 18, 2005, at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and that were subsequently extended on December 28, 2005, expire on June 30, 2006. This temporary rule extends the closure through December 31, 2006. The FDA has determined that current oceanographic conditions and alga sampling data suggests that the northern section of the Temporary Paralytic Shellfish Poison (PSP) Closure Area remain closed to the harvest of bivalve molluscan shellfish and that the southern area remain closed to the harvest of whole or roe-on scallops.

The President's Export Council will hold a meeting to discuss topics related to export expansion. The meeting will include discussion of trade priorities and initiatives, PEC subcommittee activity and proposed letters of recommendation to the President. The PEC was established on December 20, 1973, and reconstituted May 4, 1979, to advise the President on matters relating to U.S. trade. It was most recently renewed by Executive Order 13316.

Congress has appropriated limited funds to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to implement the Estuary Habitat Restoration Program as authorized in Section 104 of the Estuary Restoration Act of 2000, Title I of the Estuaries and Clean Waters Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-457) (accessible at https://era.noaa.gov/pdfs/acts835.pdf). On behalf of the Estuary Habitat Restoration Council (Council), the Corps is soliciting proposals for estuary habitat restoration projects. This document describes project criteria and evaluation criteria the Council will use to determine which projects to recommend. Recommended projects must provide ecosystem benefits, have scientific merit, be technically feasible, and be cost-effective. Proposals selected for Estuary Habitat Restoration Program funding will be implemented in accordance with a cost-share agreement with the Corps. This is not a grants program.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announces that it is reviewing a proposed noise compatibility program that was submitted for McClellan-Palomar Airport under the provisions of 49 U.S.C. 47501 et seq. (the Aviation Safety and Noise Abatement Act, hereinafter referred to as ``the Act'') and 14 CFR Part 150 by the County of San Diego. This program was submitted subsequent to a determination by FAA that associated noise exposure maps submitted under 14 CFR Part 150 for McClellan-Palomar Airport were in compliance with applicable requirements, effective April 26, 2005, which was published in the Federal Register, Volume 70, No. 89, page 24671, on May 10, 2005. The proposed noise compatibility program will be approved or disapproved on or before December 17, 2006.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to reorganize and rewrite in plain language provisions concerning benefits payable to certain Filipino veterans and their survivors. These revisions are proposed as part of VA's rewrite and reorganization of all of its compensation and pension rules in a logical, claimant-focused, and user-friendly format. The intended effect of the proposed revisions is to assist claimants and VA personnel in locating and understanding these provisions. We also propose to further amend two previously proposed part 5 sections to make them consistent with other changes that have occurred since they were initially proposed.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), New York District, is preparing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to ascertain compliance with and to lead to the production of a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) document in accordance with the President's Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) Rules and Regulations, as defined and amended in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Parts 1500-1508, Corps principals and guidelines as defined in Engineering Regulations (ER) 1105-2-100, other applicable Federal and State environmental laws for the proposed Brooklyn Navy Yard Project. The study area consists of the portion of the Navy Yard commonly known as ``Admiral's Row'' and ``Officer Quarters''. The Navy Yard is located in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, Kings County, NY. This parcel, located within the former Brooklyn Navy Yard, would be transferred to the City of New York. The EIS process will determine if there are any environmental and cultural concerns that will affect the sale of the land. The land would be developed in accordance with the mission of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation and the City of New York.

In accordance with Section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), announcement is made of the following committee meeting:

This proposed rule would set forth BIS policy concerning voluntary self disclosures of violations of part 760 (Restrictive Trade Practices or Boycotts) of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and violations of part 762 (Recordkeeping) of the EAR that relate to part 760. This proposed rule also would set forth the factors that the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) considers when deciding whether to pursue administrative charges or settle allegations of such violations as well as the factors that BIS considers when deciding what level of penalty to seek in administrative cases.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS) announces the deployment and implementation of the PIX System. PIX is a web-based automated system that will allow interested non-profit organizations and public bodies to register to receive e-mail notification of all relevant prepayment requests and potential sales to non-profits or public bodies of Section 515 Rural Rental Housing (RRH) properties.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a proposed Resource Management Plan/ Final Environmental Impact Statement (RMP/EIS) for the Ukiah Field Office.

This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Savannah River Site. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. No. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register.

The General Services Administration (GSA) is providing notice of the designation of the FedBizOpps (FBO) (GSA/OAP-4) system as a system of records under the Privacy Act. The purpose of FedBizOpps is to collect, maintain, and disseminate information on Federal procurement solicitations to the public. The system also collects voluntary contact information (e-mail address) on individuals and company information on vendors who use FedBizOpps to find and respond to Federal business opportunities for their products and/or services. System information is used to administer and manage Federal buyer access, maintain interested vendor lists, and keep vendors informed of Federal solicitations of business interest.

The NRC has prepared a final Environmental Assessment as part of its evaluation of a request by R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, LLC (Ginna LLC) for a license amendment to increase the maximum steady state power level at the R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant (Ginna) from 1520 megawatts thermal (MWt) to 1775 MWt. This represents a power increase of approximately 16.8 percent, which is considered an extended power uprate (EPU). As stated in the NRC staff's position paper dated February 8, 1996, on the Boiling-Water Reactor Extended Power Uprate Program, the NRC staff will prepare an environmental impact statement if it believes a power uprate will have a significant impact on the human environment. The NRC staff did not identify any significant impact from the information provided in the licensee's EPU application for Ginna Station or the NRC staff's independent review; therefore, the NRC staff is documenting its environmental review in an environmental assessment. Also, in accordance with the position paper, the final Environmental Assessment and finding of no significant impact is being published in the Federal Register. The NRC published a draft Environmental Assessment and finding of no significant impact on the proposed action for public comment in the Federal Register on April 12, 2006 (71 FR 18779). One set of comments was received on the draft Environmental Assessment from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) by letter dated May 12, 2006 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML061370627). The comments are discussed in the paragraphs below. Some of the comments provided by the NYSDEC were clarifications and corrections to the draft Environmental Assessment (see comment a, b, c, d, and e in the NYSDEC letter). Based on these comments, the NRC revised the appropriate sections of the final Environmental Assessment. In comment ``f,'' NYSDEC indicated ``based on review of historical data, staff would not characterize impingement and entrainment rates as `minimal,' but would describe them as `lower than most similar sized electrical generating facilities in New York State.' '' The NRC only evaluates environmental impacts at the site and surrounding area that could be affected by the proposed EPU at the facility. Rather than comparing the impacts with other perhaps similar facilities, the NRC staff looks at the overall impact of the affected resource, i.e., aquatic species in Lake Ontario. Our conclusion of ``minimal'' should be interpreted as not having a noticeable impact on the long-term sustainment of aquatic species in Lake Ontario due to entrainment and impingement. This action may have no impact to aquatic species in other parts of New York State; therefore, our analysis does not make such comparison. The comment is noted, but no changes were made to the Environmental Assessment based on this comment. The NYSDEC comments ``g and h'' raised concerns regarding possible unknown synergistic effects of physical and thermal stresses to the cold water species alewife and three-spine stickleback impinged in the Ginna fish return system under the proposed EPU conditions. In addition, NYSDEC recommended the discussion on the fish return system include references to the 316(b) Phase II rule developed by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA). This regulation established Federal requirements applicable to the location, design, construction, and capacity of cooling-water intake structures at existing facilities that exceed a threshold value for water withdrawals. The draft Environmental Assessment did include a discussion on how the new performance standards are designed to significantly reduce impingement and entrainment losses resulting from plant operation, and any site- specific mitigation would result in less impact due to continued plant operation. Currently, the Ginna State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit modification application is under technical review by NYSDEC. The SPDES permit modification application incorporated the requirements listed in Subpart J of the EPA 316(b) Phase II rule. Also, Ginna LLC has begun some studies required for compliance with the EPA 316(b) Phase II rule. The NRC staff agrees that implementation of technologies and/or operational procedures required by the EPA 316(b) Phase II rule, with authority delegated to NYSDEC, would further minimize impingement and entrainment losses of all aquatic species (including alewife and three-spine stickleback) at Ginna, under proposed EPU conditions. The comment did not provide any new information; therefore, no changes were made to the Environmental Assessment. NYSDEC comment ``I'' stated that the draft Environmental Assessment did not address ``potential impacts to early life stages of fish entrained into the discharge plume.'' Entrainment applies specifically to aquatic organisms (i.e. early life stage fish and shellfish) that are small enough to pass through a plant's intake debris screens, travel through the cooling system, and be exposed to heat, mechanical and pressure stresses, and possibly biocidal chemicals before being discharged back to the body of water. Early life stage fish (eggs and larvae) not entrained by the plant, but in the nearby water column of Lake Ontario within or near the discharge plume under the proposed conditions, would not be significantly impacted. Ginna is not adjacent to or near habitat features or spawning/nursery areas preferred by or important to local fish. As indicated by NYSDEC, the temperatures injurious to alewife eggs are limited to a small area of the thermal plume (at the mouth of the discharge canal). Comment ``j'' states NYSDEC has received reports of bald eagle sightings in the Wayne County area over the past 3 to 4 years. The reports include observations of first-year immature birds, which indicate bald eagle nesting sites could be closer to the Ginna site than originally analyzed. In addition, NYSDEC states the closest verified nest is located in the Northern Montezuma Wildlife Management Area, approximately 30 miles away from the Ginna site. The NRC staff spoke with the staff of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge office, who verified there are nesting sites in the southern area of the refuge and possibly in the northern area. Based on this new information, the NRC staff believes bald eagle nesting sites are closer (30 miles) to the Ginna site than originally analyzed (55 miles). However, the staff believes the conclusion that the bald eagle will not likely be impacted by the proposed EPU, is still valid, and no changes to the Environmental Assessment are warranted. NYSDEC also expressed concerns on possible radiological impacts to threatened and endangered species due to the proposed EPU. EPA standards (40 CFR Part 190, 40 FR 23420) concluded that environmental radiation standards developed by the nuclear power industry are adequate to protect the overall ecosystem. At this time, there is no evidence that there is any biological species sensitive enough to warrant a greater level of protection than that which is determined to be adequate for man. As a result of the proposed EPU, the radiation levels in many plant areas are expected to increase up to approximately 17%. The radiological impacts section of the Environmental Assessment provides a detailed analysis of potential impacts related to radiation. The NRC staff concluded all radiological doses were below regulatory limits and found no significant impact due to the proposed EPU.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of the Department of Homeland Security has submitted the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995: Protest. This is a proposed extension of an information collection that was previously approved. CBP is proposing that this information collection be extended without a change to the burden hours. This document is published to obtain comments form the public and affected agencies. This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register (71 FR 19197) on April 13, 2006, allowing for a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.10.

In accordance with section 6(f)(1) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended, EPA is issuing a notice of receipt of a request by the registrant to amend their registrations to terminate uses of certain products containing the pesticide DDVP. The request would terminate DDVP use in or on: Mushroom house (hand held fogger); Greenhouse (hand held fogger); Warehouse (hand held fogger); Residential Crack and Crevice use; Residential Total Release Fogger; Lawn, Turf and Ornamentals; 21 gram Pest Strip; 65 gram Pest Strip; 80 gram Pest Strip; and 100 gram Pest Strip. The request would not terminate the last DDVP products registered for use in the United States. EPA intends to grant this request at the close of the comment period for this announcement unless the Agency receives substantive comments within the comment period that would merit its further review of the request. In addition, EPA will not approve the request as to the 21 gram, 65 gram, or 80 gram pest strips prior to EPA approving the replacement registrations, per the registrant's May 9, 2006 letter to EPA. Upon acceptance of this request, any sale, distribution, or use of products listed in this notice will be permitted only if such sale, distribution, or use is consistent with the terms as described in the final order.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing final regulations to remove obsolete references to OPM central and regional offices from its classification and job grading appeals regulations.

Pursuant to Section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, the FAA announces the availability of the Final General Conformity Determination for Operations of Southwest Airlines Co. (Southwest) at Denver International Airport (DEN). FAA has determined that emissions from Southwest's operations at DEN conform to the Colorado State Implementation Plan (SIP). In accordance with the requirements of 40 CFR 93.156 (b), the Draft Conformity Determination, Proposed Operations of Southwest Airlines Co. at Denver International Airport, Denver, CO was made available for public review beginning April 21, 2006. Notice of the draft determination was published in the Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Colorado on April 21, 2006, and copies of the draft determination were made available at DEN. The Notice of Draft General Conformity Determination was published in the Federal 1Register on April 27, 2006 (71 FR 24903). No comments were submitted during the public comment period, which ended on May 30, 2006. Consequently, the Final General Conformity Determination consists of the Draft General Conformity Determination, with the following typographical corrections. The corrections are needed to clarify terms describing aircraft operations and to correct the reference to the maximum foreseeable aircraft activity used to predict aircraft emissions, as documented in Table 1. 1. Page 24903, last sentence on this page under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION shall be revised to read: ``At that time Southwest indicated an interest in increasing service to as many as 50 or 60 daily landing/take-off cycles (LTOs) at DEN, but agreed to maintain * * *'' 2. Page 24904, second sentence of the last paragraph under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION shall be revised to read: ``This General Conformity Determination addresses FAA's proposed Federal action to amend Southwest's operation specifications (OpSpecs) to accommodate future aircraft activity as high as 60 daily LTOs at DEN * * *'' 3. Page 24904, fourth sentence of the 1st paragraph under Aircraft and Supporting Equipment Emissions shall be revised to read: ``Under the Proposed Action scenario, aircraft emissions were quantified based on this maximum foreseeable level and conservatively assumed to occur every day of the year for a total of 21,900 LTOs per year.''